Tag: current conditions
State of the Wasatch – Jan 11, 2015
In the comments from my last post I was called out as “an elitist blowhard,” so I’ll try to live up to that reputation by now kvetching about the Wasatch snowpack. It is okay… but we really need more snow, especially as this is going on the fourth sub par year in a row. We’ve been robbed. Even […]
Wasatch BC Tweet
Getting hard to find the goods in the ‘satch. The upper elevations are filled in, but full of blown out crusty snow. The more sheltered mid elevations have good snow, but not much coverage. The fun zone is currently very slim.
Meadow Skipping – From the Top, with Feeling
Ninety-nine percent of enjoying backcountry skiing has to do with knowing where to find good, safe snow. It only takes a few times of hiking all day only to ski endless windjack to send skiers scurrying back to the resorts. The current Wasatch conditions are especially tough as the snow has barely filled in to […]
Tough Skiing
Whessh! Today had some tough skiing, skinning and avalanche conditions. With low temps, high winds, limited visibility and high avalanche danger everywhere, we stuck to safe ridgelines and low angle terrain. As we were skinning along this gentle ridgeline, a crack shot out from under my feet as I took this photo, went about 50′ […]
Rocky Powder – December 06
If you keep your expectations low and look in the right places, the Wasatch backcountry has some pretty good skiing. The trick to finding it is to look in what is usually the most avalanche prone areas around – high, north-facing and wind loaded. Narrow chutes seem to have held on to almost all of […]
Ahhhh…!
Summer bummer… hate heat. These are a few of my least favorite things. Utah is a “Pretty Great State” three out of four seasons, with summer being skull-popping hot and unpleasant. While the first snow may be far from actual skiing, it at least marks the end to the season of misery here in Utah. From the Alta webcam, […]
Alta – Still One Bony Pony
I’m unofficially starting to worry about this year’s snowpack. The official worrying begins after Thanksgiving if there is still no new snow, but as of right now, the area around Alta is looking mighty bony and dry. Sigh. A “great” early season starts around Halloween and continues all year long. A normal one kicks in […]
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